


Anniversaries

by Captain_Lexa



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Anxiety, Battle of New York (Marvel), Death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Minor Character Death, Misunderstandings, Post-Battle of New York (Marvel), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-29
Updated: 2019-05-29
Packaged: 2020-03-26 19:46:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19012633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Captain_Lexa/pseuds/Captain_Lexa
Summary: Peter wants to talk about the Battle of New York. Tony misunderstands.





	Anniversaries

The first time Peter tried to bring it up, Tony had managed to shrug it off with a quick “Not the time, kid.” The second time, he made up some excuse about a meeting, and the third time-

Well, the third time, he told Peter that subject wasn’t on the table.

“But, Mr. Stark, I just wanted to-”

“No  _‘but Mr. Stark’_. There’s no talking your way around this one.” Tony was quick to cut in. “Did you fly a nuke into space, Spider-boy? No, you didn’t, so you don’t get to say what is on and off the super hero table of discussion, and I say New York is  **off**  the table.”

It wasn’t really a surprise to Tony to see that Peter wasn’t in favor of this.

What was a surprise, however, was seeing that familiar clenched jaw, knitted brow and averted gaze that meant Peter was trying to look tougher, less bothered and more grown up than he was.

If Tony was a better man, he’d sigh and ask what was wrong.

Instead, he focused on the hammering inside his chest- the uneasy breathing that had been plaguing his lungs since Peter first mentioned the battle- and turned back to his work. He was a mechanic. He just had to build  _something,_  damn it.

As time continued to pass throughout the weeks, Peter refused to let the issue drop. He continued to tip-toe around the subject, hinting at the fight and hoping Tony would carry on the conversation.

He never did.

What he did do though, was become more painfully aware than ever of the upcoming anniversary of the Avengers’ first battle. He launched himself headfirst into his work, only faltering when the day finally came and… Peter never showed up.

Peter’s eager, perfect attendance and Tony’s ever climbing anxiety had combined to make a nasty reaction. Barely five minutes had passed before he was on the phone, and-

_“Hey, what’s up! This is Peter Parker. Sorry, I can’t come to the phone, right now! I’m probably off doing some really cool stuff at Stark Industries, but I’ll give you a call back. Bye!!!”_

Tony barely made it passed the first three sentences before he was dropping his phone on the table and hurrying into one of his many sports cars to speed on over to Queens. When May answered the door, her olive cheeks tear stained and an old tissue clutched in her hand, his knees nearly buckled.

“Mr. Stark, what are you-”

“What happened?” Clearly taken back by the abrupt questioning, May tightened her grip on the door, looking as if she might force it shut.

“I’m sorry?”

“You’re crying. What happened?”

With a glance behind her, May let out a soft sigh. “It’s the anniversary of Ben’s death. Peter’s uncle. He… he died in the Battle of New York.”

With a fresh wave of air returning to his lungs, Tony braced himself against the doorway. “What about the kid? How is he?”

“He’s in his room. We just- we watched one of our old home videos. Seeing Ben, his parents- it’s just… it’s hard. It’s really, really hard.”

Tony gestured inside. “May I?”

“Oh God, I’m sorry. Yes, come in.”

“It’s alright with you if I go check on Peter? I think I’ve been a little too hard on him lately.”

Nodding just as he knew she would, Tony started back towards Peter’s bedroom. It was drastically different since he’d last been there, recruiting the kid and confronting him with his silly little Youtube videos.

Tony was sure he preferred the dumpy older version over this new one. He never saw Peter curled on his side, body shaking with silent sobs, in the old one.

No doubt, the poor kid thought it was his aunt, carefully shutting the door before making his way across the floor, perching on the edge of his bed. “Is it too late to talk?”

Giving a slight jerk of surprise, Peter slowly turned away from where he had burrowed himself against the wall, facing Tony with his wide, watery eyes.

Tony almost wanted to tell him to turn back around.

_Minutes_  of silence passed as Peter dropped his head back on the pillow, staring from behind his wet lashes. Unsure of what to do, Tony stared back, one large hand eventually finding its way over Peter’s, who seemed to softened at the gentle squeeze.

“I wanted to thank you for what you did,” The boy whispered, his voice hoarse even as soft as it was. “Nobody could have saved my family, but you- because of  _you-_ ”

Tony tried to shh Peter, laying beside him and pulling the boy into his chest as the tears returned. “You almost  **died**  trying to save everyone. So many people got to go  _home_  because of you, even- even if it wasn’t Ben, I-”

His watery voice surrendering once more to the harsh sobs, Tony pressed a hard kiss to Peter’s forehead, clutching him tight as the day stretched on.


End file.
